Air traffic control towers across the country -- including in Pembroke Pines -- that were slated for closure in mid-June have been spared.

From the U.S. Department of Transportion this afternoon:

"Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced today that DOT has determined that the recently enacted Reducing Flight Delays Act of 2013 will allow the FAA to transfer sufficient funds to end employee furloughs and keep the 149 low activity contract towers originally slated for closure in June open for the remainder of fiscal year 2013."

Why should Iowa and New Hampshire get all the attention when it comes to presidential politics?

That was the question Florida legislators were asking back in 2007, when they ignored advice from both national Republican and Democratic party leaders and moved Florida’s presidential primary date. By moving it earlier, to January 29, the idea was that presidential candidates would give more time and attention to Florida voters.

The parties were not amused, and they sanctioned Florida delegates with a variety of penalties, both in 2008 and 2012

More recently, though, Florida legislators have lost interest in going rogue.

In the waning days of the 2013 Florida legislative session, lawmakers tucked a provision into an elections bill to move the primary back, so that it’s held "on the first Tuesday that the rules of the major political parties provide for state delegations to be allocated without penalty."

They made the change with the support of one of Florida’s top Republicans: U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio. That jogged our memory: Wasn’t Rubio the one in favor of moving the primary up in the first place?

We decided to investigate the matter on our Flip-O-Meter. We use the Flip-O-Meter to determine when a political official or candidate has changed position. The meter is not intended to pass judgment on their decisions to change their minds. It’s simply gaging whether they did or not. Read more here.

Charlie Crist, Florida’s once (and future?) governor, posted a note on his Facebook page congratulating two states for legalizing gay marriage.

"Some great news: On Tuesday, Delaware became the 11th state to allow marriage equality. And just a few days ago, Rhode Island adopted a similar measure, which followed victories last fall in Maine, Maryland and Washington. I most certainly support marriage equality in Florida and look forward to the day it happens here," he posted on Facebook on May 8, 2013.

That doesn’t sound like the Crist we’ve always known. He’s a former Republican who turned independent who turned Democrat. He backed John McCain in the 2008 presidential contest but last year endorsed Barack Obama’s re-election.

In other words, flip-flopping is in his past.

At PolitiFact, we put politicians’ consistency on issues on our Flip-O-Meter, rating them from No Flip to Full Flop. The meter is not intended to pass judgment on their decisions to change their minds. It’s simply gaging whether they did.

So what’s the history of Crist’s position on same-sex marriage? Crist, who is believed to be planning another run for governor in his new party, "most certainly" supports it now. Let’s see whether he always has. Read more here.

Charlie Crist, rumored to be running as a Democrat for Florida governor, has come out in favor of gay marriage.

“I
most certainly support marriage equality in Florida and look forward to
the day it happens here,” Crist quietly announced Wednesday night on
his Facebook page, hours after Delaware became the 11th state to
legalize gay marriage.

Crist, formerly a Republican governor,
apparently has evolved since the last time he ran for public office in
2010. During the GOP primary campaign against Marco Rubio for U.S.
Senate, Crist told CNN he supported a constitutional ban against
marriage equality.